You guys, it just keeps getting worse.
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I’m doing what I swore up and down that I wouldn’t do.

*update* I had to change my username since I apparently can not spell daisies, and it’s fixed in the above link.

An update is in the works, just can’t find enough hours in the day at the moment.

Okay, after some pictures and playing catch-up, it’s time for another meme (thanks Danielle)! Whenever I get these and it’s the “seven random or weird facts about yourself” ones, I always think how can I narrow it down to just seven? But I will try and here goes:

1) I’ve said it before but it always bares repeating because it is that weird: I rub paper. I Fold it, fold it, fold it and rub the corners until they’re dull. Once they’re dull, I refold it and start the process again. It must be hereditary because at four months old Conner began to rub tags and at almost three years old, he still does it constantly.

2) Whenever I eat something small, like candy or teddy grahams, I have to eat them in even numbers. Two at a time, four, six, etc. If there’s an odd-man out I either won’t eat it or I’ll break it in half so there are two. And if they’re flat, I have to stack them or put them back-to-back and then eat them. I know.

3) I never forget a face. Ever. I always say I would be a criminals worst nightmare in a police line-up. Tim likes to test this knowledge when we’re watching TV and I can place *most* people in commercials who used to be on TV shows and movies and vice-versa. Names escape me, but faces never do.

4) I have this awful fear of breaking my collar bone. Tim will playfully tap on it and it sends chills up my spine and it makes me want to throw up - eww eww. It’s such an awkward bone, too, but that’s a whole other issue.

5) I haven’t seen any of the Star Wars movies.

6) I get manic about the stupidest things. One time I got it in my head that we *might* have fleas in one of our rugs (we totally didn’t, but I had just heard a story about someone who did). I stewed about it for almost two hours before I pulled the vacuum out at 11 pm and vacuumed our 5′x8′ rug for about fifteen minutes straight. I made Tim stop watching the movie he was watching so I could do this, and even afterwards I still lost sleep over the possibility of fleas breeding in the rug. And there are so many instances of me doing stuff like that. My poor children.

7) I teared up a little (in a good way) after the election and I didn’t even vote for Obama. While morally he stands in direct opposition to most of my belief system, I do feel hopeful for the future of America under his command and hope with all my heart that he keeps his word. And just the fact that I was a part of such a monumental election - an African-American presidential candidate, and female vice-president candidate - to see both in my lifetime I am amazed. I feel so proud to be an American right now.

Now I tag: YOU! Do your seven weird things and let me know so I can hopefully feel better about myself.

Wow - did two weeks really come and go since the last time I posted? I hate saying cliche things like, “time flies when you’re having fun” but at the end of each week I can’t believe that my kids are another week older and we are another week closer to being at the end of 2008. And Christmas is less than two months away! Zoinks!

Anyways, what have we been up to? Well first we took a trip down to Atlanta to see my in-laws. They were great - they always are - I just didn’t realize how restful our visits down there really were until you throw a four-month-old in the mix and suddenly it’s not so restful. Sure, it’s hard work at home but in my delusional mind it wouldn’t be if we were on vacation, right? Wrong. We came back even more exhausted than before we left but it was still a good visit and the boys get gold stars for their behavior on the plane (even when I had to wake them at 5 am to take a 6:30 flight, but watching a gorgeous sunrise 27,000 ft in the air made it slightly worth it).

Last week Max had his four month well baby visit. He tipped the scales at 18lbs, 13 oz and is 25.5″ long. It’s amazing how different your children can be in terms of their size. Conner grew length-wise (he was 29″ by this age) and Max is just growing width-wise. I think we’re going to use the terms “big-boned” and “husky” when we talk about his build, but that’s okay because I adore his fat rolls and love to tickle and kiss them since it makes him laugh. At his appointment the nurse noticed he still had a lot of congestion in his chest (something he was born with, actually) and was concerned it could be something besides a cold. She ordered an xray “just to be safe” which didn’t bother me much, until the next morning when we got to the appointment. I walked into the xray room and got a little choked-up. I knew in my heart it was probably nothing, but what if it wasn’t? What if this was going to be this defining moment of my life where I’ll always remember that day we “found out”? And the machine - it was huge! This huge machine hanging from the ceiling of this huge room over-top this huge table…and then my little Max laying in the middle of it all. He did great though and got gushed-over by all the techs so he was loving it. They did have to press the skin under his chin back since his fat roll was getting in the way of the xray which made me giggle. And while everyone was wearing those heavy metal jackets to protect their innards from the radiation, Max got a little metal loincloth placed over his lap since, as the tech said, “You want grandchildren, right?”. But this story is anticlimactic in that Max is totally fine, nothing in there that shouldn’t be, so now we just wait and hope he grows out of it. He’ll just sound like he needs to cut back on the Lucky Strikes a bit.

We did the whole Halloween thing again this year and Conner had so much fun trick-or-treating with his B.F.F. John. I totally wanted Conner to be something super cute like an elephant or skunk, but Tim got this crazy idea that Conner should be the one to pick out his costume. What’s that about? Isn’t that my right until he’s at least ten years old? So naturally Conner picked a baseball player and I gotta admit, he’s no adorable elephant but he is one cute ball player. He did great going from house to house getting his free candy until this huge kid (and by kid I mean college student or freakishly large middle schooler) dressed as Darth Vader came up behind him and scared the living daylights out of him. Not cool.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon up in the mountains with the family and it was a great way to spend a fall day. My kids are so lucky to have so many people who love them and want to know them. We are truly blessed.

This is my Papa. He’s so sweet and so incredibly funny. He tells the best stories and most of them are so wild he either has to be lying or they just have to be true. And he’s very handsome to boot. A friend of mine has a little crush on him, saying he looks a lot like Sean Connery.

These two sassy broads are my mom (on the right) and her sister, Gwen. While they couldn’t be any different in personality, I think they look so much alike.

This cutie is my cousin, Ethan. He’s so good-looking and all the girls just love him. Could you blame them? And he’s got the best hair, too. Conner loves Ethan so much and his face lights up when we tell him we’re going to see him.

And this sexy minx, well that’s me, hard at work.

Real quick: I have to show you the hat that I made for Max:

Isn’t it awesome! I’ll have to take another picture since this one it’s hard to see. I saw the pattern and thought it would be cute, but once I got it on his noggin’ I fell in love with it. He’s so adorable.

This is my dad. Everyone comments on how much Max looks like him, and I can’t deny it either. In fact, the morning after Max was born I kept staring at him and it was unsettling to me just how much he looked like my dad. But now I find it endearing and not so strange. What do you think?

It’s so hard getting a good picture of all of us. Telling one person to look “over here” while getting the other to just lift his head at all.

So then we have to get creative

and then just settle for what we can get.

So…busy…but will sit my butt on the sofa for THIS. I am SO FRIGGIN’ EXCITED!!

I’ve never been a jewelry person, especially necklaces and bracelets. However after we moved, I realized I had more jewelry than I originally thought. I’m not a fan of the traditional jewelry boxes you see, so I saw an idea in one of my home magazines (can’t find it to cite it at the moment) to use a cutlery tray to organize your necklaces and bracelets. I thought leaving it as-is was kind of boring and used my craftiness to jazz it up a bit and I’m going to show you how.

What you’ll need is as follows:

Cutlery Tray
Various Scrapping Papers
Decorative knobs and pulls
Drill (with correct size bit)
Double-sided permanent adhesive
Exacto Knife
Ruler or straight-edge
Tape measure
Sand paper
Paint
Jigsaw (or small hand-saw)
Wood glue
Wood molding
Masking tape

As you can see, I added wood molding to the surface of mine, but that requires extra steps of sanding, sawing, and gluing. So if you have the knowledge and the tools to do that, it gives it a little extra flair, but you can keep it easy and simple and omit that part, thus omitting the last four to six supplies. I’m going to include my steps just in case you’re wanting to do the same.

First you’re going to drill your holes to place the knobs. I placed mine about an inch down and marked the spot with a pen, then drilled with a drill bit large enough to accommodate the screws for the knobs.

Next, you’ll want to cut the molding pieces. They were cut to match up in the corners, which requires you sawing them at an angle. The easiest way to do this is to to measure the width (in this case, one-half inch) and then measure that distance down the back of the molding and mark it. Then draw a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite corner of where you marked it. Cut on the diagonal line.

After all your pieces are cut, you’ll piece them together by gluing them on the surface with the wood glue. You might need to sand your surface first if it has a finish it on it, so the glue will work and also so the paint will stick. If you have wood clamps you can use them, however I found it was much easier to just use masking tape. Tape all the wood pieces down, then turn the tray over so it’s laying face-down and pile some heavy books on top. Let dry for a few hours.

Once the glue has dried you’ll remove the tape and paint your tray. Make sure it is completely dry before going to the next step.

Next, you’re going to apply your paper. Measure out the spaces of the compartments and using your exacto knife and ruler or straight edge, you’re going cut out the pieces. You can use spray adhesive to place your papers but it can get really sticky and messy very quickly, so that’s why I like using double-sided tape. You’ll turn your paper over, line the sides with the tape and place in the compartments, pressing down firmly so the tape adheres.

Next you’re going to take your exacto knife and very carefully poke through the back to the front, to pierce the paper to place the knobs. (You could also wait to drill your spaces until you adhere your paper, omitting the first step. I was just afraid it would mess up my paper, but as long as you’re careful you should be fine.)

Add your knobs and voila! You have a pretty and functional jewelry organizer.

I tell you what, I feel like I am on fire! Getting stuff done and finally hitting my stride again after having a baby. With Conner it took nine months - once the antidepressants kicked in and I wasn’t all frowny-face all the time. But this time right at 14 weeks I felt like I woke up and have a renewed vigor for everything! Back to exercising, back to cleaning (on a regular basis), back to CRAFTING!!! It feels so good. For those of you just about to have a baby you’ll know what I mean, or if you just had a baby, hang in there - it will get better, pinky swear!

I just realized the other day all my links are gone. They used to sit under the categories, but they just disappeared. I don’t know where they went, but I’m on it and will add everyone back as soon as I can. Since we’re on the subject of blogs, two of my new favorite blogs I must share with you. Bee pointed me in the direction of this blog, which makes me laugh so hard each time because as annoying as it is, there is always some humor in the art of being passive-aggressive. The apple core one literally made me laugh at loud, as it did Tim, because that is SO something I would do. And then this one, the sansom window project, a two-month art instillation in Philadelphia entitled “your message here”. They’re pretty quirky and fun, but there are some that make me smile and connect with people I don’t even know. It’s pretty cool.

And what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t post something about my two muses? I know most children are funny, but Conner has been saying some pretty hilarious things lately. My favorite is when anyone comments on how chunky and well Max must eat, Conner will always say, “Yeah he eats from her boobs!” But after about the fourtieth time he said that I started correcting him. So he’ll still drop the boob-bomb, but will quickly correct himself and say with the most serious face ever, “No, they’re called buhwesssssts.” Cracks me up every time.

And we have a rolling baby, people! My little squishy baby who I swear should not be this old yet is just rolling over all willy-nilly. At first I thought he was just getting mad being put down to sleep (yes, my kids are tummy sleepers - gasp!) and was rolling over to protest, but I’ve seen him do it many times now and there really is strategy involved. It’s quite something to see and since he doesn’t always know I’m standing there watching him, his face just lights up as he rolls over and then there’s my goofy face just grinning down at him.

Now it’s time for a little temper tantrum for the post. Anyone who’s checked out all the photos I added to flickr this weekend might’ve noticed this little gem:

Yes, folks, that is where someone hit my car in the parking lot of Wal-mart and didn’t leave a note. Pretty rotten, wouldn’t you say? I’m still a little in shock that someone would do that. Just hit a car - not scraped, not knicked, but straight-up hit it and then just drove off. The bad news is that they see on the security cameras it getting hit, but because it was at night, they can’t make out the license plate so the perp (thank you, Law & Order) gets away. Estimated damage that comes out of our pocket: $2k. Nice, eh? The good news is it’s just a car. A car, that up until that moment was in great condition, but still just a car and it could’ve been worse. Don’t think I’m trying to be all Debbie-Sunshine - this happened almost two weeks ago and I’m just getting to the point where I don’t spit fire and mumble expletives every time I see it.

And a quick bloggy-poll for those who have an opinion. Have the clutches worn out their welcome yet? To date I’ve made quite a few and sold all but a few and I’ve got five more that I made back in the spring that will make their way into the shop soon. I love making them but you should only own and give away so many. Is it time to move onto something else? Thoughts?

About a month ago, Tim and I came to the realization that while Max was extremely easy-going, his sleeping patterns were getting worse and worse. I was having to nurse him or bounce him to sleep for his naps, and he wouldn’t even go down for the night unless Tim was holding him. It really came to a head the week that Tim was gone and I was on my own with a baby that did not want to sleep. Some of you have no idea what I’m talking about and your babies probably came out of the womb putting themselves to sleep. Sadly, neither of mine were built with that coding. Conner was an extreme case and we had to literally bounce him for hours at night to 1) stop the crying and 2) get him to sleep. By three months, I said enough was enough (actually, I think I screamed through tears and months of sleep deprevation) and we started sleep training him. It only took a few weeks, but by four months old he would go to sleep on his own and Tim and I could reclaim our evenings together. But the best part was Conner has not had any sleep issues since.

So imagine my horror when I realized we were heading in that direction again. Max would not fall asleep unless he was rocked, bounced or nursed. Some of you think, “What’s the big deal about that?” Well, it was a big deal to us. I liked having the evenings free - to watch TV, cuddle with the hubby or work on something personal. Getting Max to sleep was turning into a 45-60 minute ordeal, and would end with him falling asleep in one of our arms and then would wake when he would be transfered to the crib, starting the whole process over again. I fought and fought the urge to begin sleep training since I kept thinking he was too young. But I realized, just like with Conner, it was getting worse by the day and the time had come for us to do this. I must take this opportunity to say that we did what we needed to do for our family and this matter isn’t up for debate, so please don’t use it as such. I respect everyone’s right to practice in their family what they’re comfortable with, and I ask that you give my family the same respect.

I had been reading a blog that I found randomly when Max was just a few days old and it was linked to it’s program, The Sleep Sense Program, an ebook written by Dana Obleman, a professional infant and child sleep specialist. The book talks about sleep patterns and how important sleep is to children of all ages, and gives practical application to begin helping your child form healthy sleep habits. I hemmed and hawed for a while whether or not I should buy it, but on Thursday morning of September 25, with my husband across the country and my infant screaming in his crib because he was that tired I broke down and bought it. And oh my gosh, was it worth every penny.

I can not tell you how much I appreciated this book and in so many ways. But first, I emailed Dana, the author, and told her that I wanted to interview her on my blog, since I know so many people with babies or those about to have babies and I know first-hand the frustrations of trying to get your baby to sleep. So consider this review a freebie - I just had to share this information!

Dana, you consider yourself well-educated about infant and child sleep. Just how important, in your opinion, is sleep to young children? Oh, SO important! Not just to children, but to everyone! It’s the corner stone of a healthy lifestyle. Lack of sleep is now being linked to ADD, obesity, heart problems, depression, anxiety, traffic accidents and the list goes on. All children do not fit into the same sleep need box. Just like adults, it can vary by a few hours per child, but it is crucial that children get enough sleep to feel rested and ready to tackle the day. If a child is not getting enough sleep, they can become cranky, easily upset, aggressive, hyper, and clingy.

One thing that kept us from wanting our son to learn to sleep on his own was the fact that he might cry, and that he would cry a lot. Is this a common fear? Oh yes! It’s the most popular question I get asked… I wish there was a way to teach a child to sleep well without any crying, but in my opinion there just isn’t, and here is why; All people are very habitual about their night time sleep habits. We don’t like a lot of surprises. We usually sleep on the same side of the bed, have our own pillow, a glass of water by the bed, some people need ear plugs, others music, whatever it is, it’s your sleeps habits. To change them would cause you anxiety. If you were a child, you would probably cry about it… Learning to sleep well, without props is like teaching your child a brand new skill. You can be supportive and encouraging, but the actual skill is theirs to learn. If I was teaching my son how to swim, for example, I wouldn’t just throw him in the pool and run away! I would get him some lessons and I would be encouraging and cheer him on, but the actual skill is his to master. That is the way I feel about teaching a child to sleep well.

In your book, you talk about your first son having problems learning to sleep on his own. Tell us a little about that and what kind of sleeper he is today or the difference in his sleep compared to your youngest child, having starting her off on the right foot earlier. My oldest son is now 6 and is the BEST sleeper I know! He goes to bed happily at 7:00 pm and comes in to wake us up at 7:00 am. But you are right, he did not start out this way. I just didn’t know any better at the time, and I would always nurse him to sleep. Then I tried replacing the nursing with a soother, which was just the same problem in a different form. It wasn’t until he was almost 5 months old, that I finally realized he might actually need to learn something different in order to sleep well. My third child, and even the second were great sleepers right from the start. I made sure that they went back to sleep at the right times, and I encouraged them to find their own way to sleep instead of relying on a soother or my breast to do the work for them. If you start off right, you never really have to go through long bouts of crying, as the skills just develop naturally and the baby starts sleeping longer and longer. Both my children where sleeping through the night by 12 weeks.

At what age do you recommend parents begin preparing their child to develop healthy sleep patterns? Oh, you can start that right from day one! It has a lot to do with timing. A newborn can really only stay awake for about fourty-five minutes to one hour at a time, so if you put her to bed at the right time, she will often fall asleep on her own. I’m not saying you should never rock your baby to sleep or hold her while she sleeps, you should! Not much feels better than a sleeping newborn in your arms, but you just don’t want to do this all the time, or it may be the only way she thinks she can get and stay asleep. It’s not as much fun if you feel like its something you HAVE to do or your child won’t sleep.

How is your approach different from other method’s that you have read or researched? Well, like I said above, I think it’s pretty impossible to do without any kind of crying, but I do offer parents the option of staying in the room with their child. Again, if it’s about skill development, then it’s fine to stay and be supportive and encouraging, but you just don’t’ want to interfere in the new skill. If you stay and pat your child to sleep, then you are running the risk of incorporating yourself into his new strategy and you may have to go in continuously to pat him back to sleep. I also think the Sleep Sense Program is more step-by- step which is helpful for tired parents who have trouble formulating an actual PLAN from all the other sleep books they have read.

If you could give a piece of advice about children’s sleep and developing healthy sleep habits, what would it be? Allow your child the opportunity to master their own sleep needs! By constantly rocking, bouncing, feeding, soothing, bottle feeding, driving, walking our children to sleep, I feel that we are robbing them of an important life-long skill. Everyone needs to feel confident that they can get themselves to sleep every night. If you relied on a bunch of external “things” or people to help you, then what happens when you need or want to do it yourself? I’ve seen children as old as 14 who never gained that confidence, and now feel like they need their parents to be there to help in some way. That can be pretty awkward when the child has a friend stay the night, or wants to go for a sleep over!

So if you’re starting to have the same realization we had, or you’re about to have a baby and want to start them off on the right foot right away, this ebook is definitely worth a look. And you can’t go wrong since she guarantees she can help you or you get your money back. We’re week three into this and Max rarely fusses before he goes to sleep and is in bed by 7 pm, wakes only twice before he’s up for the day at 7 am. Bedtime and naptime are no longer a battle for us and it’s so liberating!

The Sleep Sense Program

This post is going to be mushy-gushy, so if you’re not feeling the love today, then you may want to stop reading. But if you want to hear about how much I stinking adore my kids, then let us continue!

I am experiencing some serious thanksgiving lately as I watch my two beautiful boys grow and mature. Never a day goes by that I don’t thank God for these two amazing beings he has given me. However, I feel like the fuzziness of the last few months of sleep-deprivations and shake-ups to my routine has finally lifted and I can see with new eyes just what a blessing my children are to me.

I love them so much. Even typing those words seem empty because they can not express how deeply I care for them. Each with their own personality and temperaments, but together they are a picture of God’s endless and abounding love for me. They are truly a gift that I did not deserve so I just raise my hands to the heavens and thank God for seeing past my faults and blessing me with them anyways.

Looking back at how difficult it was with Conner in the beginning, and those moments of desperation where I thought life would’ve been simpler if we had just waited a bit longer before taking on such a huge responsibility. Or worse, that he be a different baby and not be so difficult. Shortly after that realization Conner’s true-self was emerging and while he was certainly spirited, he was exactly everything I had ever hoped for and then some. How dare I wish that he be any different. And when I think about our big ultrasound in February, how my heart sank when the tech said we were having another boy, I shake my head in sadness since I think I can not imagine not having two sons. I look at Max’s adorable dimpled grin, constantly smiling at me, and I realize how silly and foolish I was to think that I would’ve been less happy with another son.

Conner, you continue to be an inspiration to me. You have taught me what it is like to love without abandon, and to go for life with everything you’ve got. When you fall down there may be tears, but you get right back up, you dust yourself off and persevere. You have taught me to keep no record of wrongs and to always show mercy whether it is deserved or not. May I always be as kind and gracious to those around me as you are. You are everything that I could ever want or hope to be.

Max, you are evidence that not only is God good, but He is faithful. You are more than I ever imagined and your sweet disposition and inviting countenance will forever make me stand in awe. You are one of the most calming people I have ever met and I feel so at peace when you’re around. Though your sounds are simple and your actions are few, I can not wait to watch your personality unfold and emerge over the next few months and then years. Getting to know you will be one of the best experiences of my life. I love you more than I ever thought possible.